What's going on with my sun conure's beak?

[Groelerboy]

Hi there.
This is coco, I recently got it and I've noticed there might be something wrong with his beak. It looks like a mix of an overgrowth and a superficial crack. By looking at pics of other baby conures online I haven't noticed anything similar. Should I be worried or is it something that'll go away with age?

 

[bug_n_flock]

Hmm. Not sure what's going on, can you answer a few questions it might help get a better idea what's going on.

What is his diet? Have you gotten him in to see a bird vet yet? Where did you get him from?

I took in a large number of budgies from someone who had no business dealing with birds. Some of the young ones had deformed beaks from where food had got stuck to them and never cleaned. How are your baby's toes? Some of those budgies had poo balls on their toes also, and deformitiesfrom that too.

 

[onamom]

Welcome to the forums though I’m sorry to hear about Coco’s beak!

It does look like it’s cracked a bit. My bird had something similar as a baby when she was bit by a large bird. Hers ended up growing out fine. Is he eating ok? I would monitor it and see how it looks in a few days. But if you’re worried you could always ask a vet. New babies should always have a checkup anyway if you haven’t done one yet.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Coco is adorable! Gather together as much information as you can like the others suggest and take her to an avian vet for answers. She should have a "new bird" check up anyway. It's best to develop a relationship with an avian vet before your bird is sick or there's an emergency. It will be easier to get appointments if Coco is an established patient.

 

[Groelerboy]

Hmm. Not sure what's going on, can you answer a few questions it might help get a better idea what's going on.

What is his diet? Have you gotten him in to see a bird vet yet? Where did you get him from?

I took in a large number of budgies from someone who had no business dealing with birds. Some of the young ones had deformed beaks from where food had got stuck to them and never cleaned. How are your baby's toes? Some of those budgies had poo balls on their toes also, and deformitiesfrom that too.

I got him at a local fair from a pet shop. The lil' guy was in a cage with 3000 people passing by so I had to bring him to a new home immediately.
He's still needs to be on 2 times baby formula until tuesday (at least that's what they've told me). Haven't seen a Vet yet since I've called them and they've told me it shouldn't be necessary with the certificates I've got and everything. The toes are completely fine.

Welcome to the forums though I’m sorry to hear about Coco’s beak!

It does look like it’s cracked a bit. My bird had something similar as a baby when she was bit by a large bird. Hers ended up growing out fine. Is he eating ok? I would monitor it and see how it looks in a few days. But if you’re worried you could always ask a vet. New babies should always have a checkup anyway if you haven’t done one yet.

Thanks, I'll bring him to a Vet just in case.
I mean, he nibbles down on some veggies, altough he/she doesn't seem that interested in solid foods yet. He plays with them and then almost always spits them out, but he's able to break cashew nuts with his beak so it looks allright (?).
I'm not worried that it'll be aesthetically different from a normal beak, I'm worried that it might cause problems in the long run.

Coco is adorable! Gather together as much information as you can like the others suggest and take her to an avian vet for answers. She should have a "new bird" check up anyway. It's best to develop a relationship with an avian vet before your bird is sick or there's an emergency. It will be easier to get appointments if Coco is an established patient.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Don't stop hand feeding him until hes eating on his own and rejects hand feedings. You cant just stop on some assigned, arbitrary date. Weaning is a process that can take weeks. Have you ever hand fed a baby parrot before? I assume you know about heating the formula to the proper temperature (98 to 105 degrees F, NO HOTTER). If you're using a syringe to feed her I recommend switching to a small spoon. It's too easy to accidentally push too much formula into a baby's mouth at once causing him to inhale some (aspirate), killing the baby within a day. A spoon is much safer. You can heat a plastic spoon and bend it into a funnel shape. I've handraised baby budgies so if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!

Since Coco is still being hand fed it's ĺimportant that you get in to see an avian vet. So many things can go wrong during the handfeeding and weaning stages so you'll need access to a good vet for her.

 

[bug_n_flock]

Sounds like good advice and like you're on the right track. Donna knows her stuff she'll lead ya right on that. Glad to hear the toes are just fine

Out of curiosity what part of the world are you in? Don't need to get very specific if you don't want, I'm just meaning generally

 

[Groelerboy]

Don't stop hand feeding him until hes eating on his own and rejects hand feedings. You cant just stop on some assigned, arbitrary date. Weaning is a process that can take weeks. Have you ever hand fed a baby parrot before? I assume you know about heating the formula to the proper temperature (98 to 105 degrees F, NO HOTTER). If you're using a syringe to feed her I recommend switching to a small spoon. It's too easy to accidentally push too much formula into a baby's mouth at once causing him to inhale some (aspirate), killing the baby within a day. A spoon is much safer. You can heat a plastic spoon and bend it into a funnel shape. I've handraised baby budgies so if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!

Since Coco is still being hand fed it's ĺimportant that you get in to see an avian vet. So many things can go wrong during the handfeeding and weaning stages so you'll need access to a good vet for her

I used to live in a very secluded area in the forest, so I'm quite familiar with hand-feeding wild baby birds that had fallen from their nests, usually using a syringe. Because of that experience, I’ve learned a lot about food-related asphyxiation—though it came with some painful losses and grief that still stay with me to this day.


That said, small wild birds are quite different from conures, so I’m not entirely sure when it would be appropriate to reduce feedings from twice a day to just once in the evening. I'm also unsure how to recognize the right time to make that transition. I know that I should stop weaning when she starts refusing the formula, but this prior part is still a bit of a grey area for me.

She’s already exploring plenty of vegetables and small portions of fruit, which is encouraging. I’ll try the spoon trick to shake things up a bit and see how she responds.

Aside from her beak, everything else seems perfectly fine. She’s very energetic, and I’ve already started teaching her a few things. In the five days since I brought her home, we’ve really bonded, she’s always close to me, seeks out my hand for cuddles, and even snuggles between my neck and shoulder when I’m lying on the couch. I’m also working on teaching her not to scream in my ear, and I think we’re making some kind of progress.

We even had a funny “oopsie” moment today. I thought she didn’t like water, but when I was showering, she suddenly flew to my shoulder and got completely soaked.

Sounds like good advice and like you're on the right track. Donna knows her stuff she'll lead ya right on that. Glad to hear the toes are just fine

Out of curiosity what part of the world are you in? Don't need to get very specific if you don't want, I'm just meaning generally

I live in Northern Italy, specifically in Cuneo. It’s not exactly the ideal climate for these little ones, but I recently moved into a large, newly built home that stays at a constant 24°C year-round. The room where Coco sleeps is currently kept at 27°C since she’s still young, so both the temperature and space shouldn’t be an issue. She’s already flying all over the place!